Each IBM Flex System V7000 Storage Node operates using IBM Flex System V7000 Software V6.4 and is designed to use IBM® System Storage® SAN Volume Controller (SVC) technology to deliver high performance, advanced function, high availability, and modular and scalable storage capacity:

Accommodates up to twenty-four 2.5-inch disk drives installed within the IBM Flex System V7000 Control Enclosure with additional attachment support for up to nine Expansion Enclosures using either IBM Flex System V7000 Expansion Enclosures (max 2), IBM Storwize® V7000 Expansion Enclosures (max 9), or a combination of both, providing modular and highly scalable storage solutions that range up to 240 TB physical storage capacity, and 960 TB physical storage capacity in a clustered system

IBM Flex System V7000 Storage Node is an integrated storage system for IBM PureFlex System and IBM Flex System , designed to deliver high performance, advanced function, high availability, and modular and scalable storage capacity.

IBM PureFlex System and IBM Flex System represent a new category of computing that integrates multiple server architectures, networking, storage, and system management capability into a single system that is easy to deploy and manage. IBM PureFlex System and IBM Flex System have built-in virtualization support of servers, storage, and networking to speed provisioning and increase resiliency. In addition, it supports multiple open industry standards, operating systems, networking and storage fabrics, virtualization, and system management protocols, to easily fit within existing and future datacenter environments. IBM PureFlex System and IBM Flex System are scalable and extendable with multigeneration upgrades to protect and maximize IT investments.

The new IBM Flex System V7000 Storage Node is a powerful block storage system designed to integrate into the IBM PureFlex System or IBM Flex System infrastructure, enabling extremely rapid storage deployment and breakthrough management simplicity. By enabling virtualization, consolidation, and tiering in business of all sizes, it is designed to improve application availability and resource utilization. Flex System V7000 offers easy-to-use, efficient, and cost-effective management capabilities for both new and existing storage resources in your IT infrastructure. This new class of storage system combines no compromise design along with virtualization, efficiency, and performance capabilities.

IBM Flex System V7000 Storage Node is built on the industry-leading storage virtualization and efficiency capabilities of IBM Storwize V7000, including

IBM System Storage Easy Tier for automated SSD optimization

IBM Real-Time Compression for data footprint reduction

While also being physically and logically integrated into IBM PureFlex System or IBM Flex System .

IBM Flex System V7000 helps simplify and speed IBM PureFlex System and IBM Flex System deployment, providing superior integration of server and storage management to automate and streamline provisioning for greater responsiveness to business needs and lower overall cost.

Speed time to value with:

Integration by design: Deployment is automated with integration into IBM PureFlex System or IBM Flex System infrastructure in minutes instead of weeks.

Simplified experience: Management is simplified with an integrated, intuitive user interface for ease of use and faster system accessibility, increasing administrative efficiency and simplicity.

Built-in expertise:

Virtualized storage: virtualizes third-party storage for investment protection and nondisruptive migration of the current storage infrastructure.

Helps optimize performance and costs for mixed workloads: up to 200% higher performance than with HDD alone by optimizing SSD usage with Easy Tier .

This program requires at least one IBM Flex System V7000 (4939-A49) Control Enclosure for installation. IBM Flex System V7000 V6.4 software (5639-NZ1, 5639-EX1, 5639-RE1, and 5639-CM1) is preinstalled on and shipped on the required IBM 4939-A49 IBM Flex System V7000 Control Enclosure.

Each IBM Flex System V7000 (4939-A49) Control Enclosure and each IBM Flex System V7000 Disk Expansion Enclosure (4939-A29) uses the IBM Flex System V7000 Base Software, 5639-NZ1. A quantity of one 5639-NZ1 IBM Flex System V7000 Base Software license is required for each enclosure, whether control or expansion enclosure. For example, a IBM Flex System V7000 order consisting of one control enclosure and two IBM Flex System V7000 Disk Expansion enclosures requires three IBM Flex System V7000 Base Software licenses, 5639-NZ1, one license for each enclosure.

Flex System V7000 Base Software includes the following features and capabilities:

Simplified management with an intuitive GUI to aid rapid implementation and deployment.

Easy Tier technology for increased storage performance.

FlashCopy and snapshot functions help to support the creation of instant copies of data to help avoid data loss and improve space utilization.

Thin provisioning to help capacity planning.

Dynamic migration to help speed data migrations from weeks or months to days, eliminating the cost of add-on migration tools and providing continuous availability of applications by eliminating downtime.

Nondisruptive volume moves across clustered systems - Data mobility has been enhanced with greater flexibility for nondisruptive volume moves. Flex System V7000 provides the ability to move volumes nondisruptively between the dual controllers within one enclosure. Flex System V7000 supports moving volumes anywhere within a clustered system without disruption of host access to storage.

Four way clustering of Flex System V7000 control enclosures - IBM Flex System V7000 provides increased scalability and performance with four-way clustered systems. Flex System V7000 supports clustered systems with up to four control enclosures, essentially quadrupling the maximum capacity and performance of a single Flex System V7000 system.

When Storwize V7000 Expansion Enclosures are used as external expansions enclosures with the Flex System V7000 Control Enclosure (4939-A49), each IBM Storwize V7000 Disk Expansion Enclosure (2076-212/224) must have the IBM Storwize V7000 Base Software license, 5639-VM1. A quantity of one 5639-VM1 IBM Storwize V7000 Base Software license is required for each Storwize V7000 Expansion Enclosure. For example, a IBM Flex System V7000 configuration comprised of one Flex System V7000 Control Enclosure (4939-A49), one Flex System V7000 Disk Expansion Enclosure (4939-A29), and three Storwize V7000 expansion enclosures (2076-212/224) requires three IBM Storwize V7000 Base Software licenses, 5639-VM1, one for each enclosure, and two IBM Flex System V7000 Base Software licenses, 5639-NZ1, one for each enclosure.

IBM Flex System V7000 External Virtualization Software (5639-EX1)

Each IBM Flex System V7000 (4939-A49) Disk Control Enclosure has the ability to attach and manage external storage devices on the SAN in the same way as the SAN Volume Controller. To authorize use of this function, you must license the IBM Flex System V7000 External Virtualization Software, 5639-EX1. You will need to license the number of storage enclosures attached externally to the IBM Flex System V7000. IBM Flex System V7000 (4939-A49) Control Enclosures and IBM Flex System V7000 Expansion Enclosures (4939-A29) do not need to be included in this External Virtualization license, however any IBM Flex System V7000 Control Enclosures or Expansion Enclosures which are SAN-attached and virtualized must be included in this license.

A storage enclosure externally managed by IBM Flex System V7000 is defined as an independently powered, channel-attached device that stores data on magnetic disks or SSDs, such as disk controllers and their respective expansion units, each constituting separate enclosures. Therefore, an enclosure can be either the main controller housing disk (or SSD) drives or the expansion chassis that house additional disk (or SSD) drives for the purpose of expanding the total capacity of the storage system. If there is any confusion for an external storage enclosure that does not conform to this definition, consult your IBM sales representative for an equivalent measure based on a disk drive count.

For example, adding a DS5020 consisting of three enclosures to an IBM Flex System V7000 consisting of one control enclosure and one expansion enclosure, you will need license for three enclosures (one for each of the DS5020 enclosures) of the IBM Flex System V7000 External Virtualization Software, 5639-EX1.

IBM Flex System V7000 Remote Mirroring Software (5639-RE1)

Global (long distance greater than 300 Km) mirroring is only supported over Fibre Channel SAN infrastructure. Local Mirroring (less than 300 Km) is supported over either Fibre Channel(FC) or Fibre Channel Over Ethernet (FCoE) SAN infrastructure. Mirroring over iSCSI fabric is not supported at this time. Consult System Storage Interoperability Center for supported configurations.

To authorize use of Remote Copy capabilities of the IBM Flex System V7000 where the primary and secondary systems have the same number of enclosures at each site, you must purchase a license for IBM Flex System V7000 Remote Mirroring Software (5639-RE1) with the quantity of licenses that matches the number of licensed enclosures managed by the IBM Flex System V7000 Disk System, including each internal enclosure licensed with the IBM Flex System V7000 Base Software (5639-NZ1), each attached Storwize V7000 expansion enclosure with the Storwize V7000 Base Software (5639-VM1), and each external enclosure licensed with the IBM Flex System V7000 External Virtualization Software (5639-EX1).

For example, if your primary system has a DS5020 consisting of three enclosures managed by a IBM Flex System V7000 consisting of one control enclosure and one expansion enclosure, and you have the same total count of enclosures at the secondary system, then in order to authorize remote mirroring for the primary system, you will need to license the IBM Flex System V7000 Remote Mirroring Software, 5639-RE1, with a quantity of five enclosures. Assuming the matching secondary system is also a IBM Flex System V7000, you will need an additional five enclosure licenses of 5639-RE1 for the secondary system, for a total of 10 enclosure licenses.

For primary and secondary systems with differing numbers of enclosures using Remote Mirroring, the number of 5639-RE1 licenses needed for each system is the number of enclosures on the smaller of the two systems (see scenarios 1 and 2 below).

When multiple production systems replicate to a single disaster recovery system, the number of 5639-RE1 licenses at the disaster recover system must equal the sum of the 5639-RE1 licenses at the production systems (see scenario 3 below).

The following are examples of how to license Remote Mirroring Software (5639-RE1) under these licensing rules:

Scenario 1: The primary system is a three-enclosure Flex System V7000 with nothing externally virtualized, therefore it has three 5639-NZ1 licenses. The secondary system is a two-enclosure Flex System V7000 with nothing externally virtualized, therefore it has two 5639-NZ1 licenses. The Flex System V7000 Remote Mirroring licensing would be as follows: two 5639-RE1 licenses for the primary system plus two 5639-RE1 licenses for the secondary system, for a total of four 5639-RE1 licenses required.

Scenario 2: The primary system is a one-enclosure Flex System V7000 managing a DS5020 consisting of three enclosures, therefore it has one 5639-NZ1 license plus three 5639-EX1 licenses. The secondary system is a three-enclosure Flex System V7000 with nothing externally virtualized, therefore it has three 5639-NZ1 licenses. The Flex System V7000 Remote Mirroring licensing would be as follows: three 5639-RE1 licenses for the primary system plus three 5639-RE1 licenses for the secondary system, for a total of six 5639-RE1 licenses required.

Scenario 3: There are three primary systems replicating to a central disaster recovery system. The three primary systems are as follows:

A two-enclosure Flex System V7000 with nothing externally virtualized, therefore it has two 5639-NZ1 licenses

A one-enclosure Flex System V7000 managing a DS5020 consisting of three enclosures, therefore it has one 5639-NZ1 license plus three 5639-EX1 licenses

A one-enclosure Flex System V7000 with nothing externally virtualized, therefore it has one 5639-NZ1 license

The central disaster recovery system is a nine-enclosure Flex System V7000 with nothing externally virtualized, therefore it has nine 5639-NZ1 licenses. The Flex System V7000 Remote Mirroring licensing would be as follows: a sum of seven 5639-RE1 licenses for the primary systems plus seven 5639-RE1 licenses for the central disaster recovery system, for a total of fourteen 5639-RE1 licenses required.

Global Mirror with Change Volumes Customers who wish to use the global mirror capability with Flex System V7000 can do so on a low bandwidth link between sites. This provides options to help administrators balance network bandwidth requirements and RPO times for applications, helping to reduce operation costs for disaster recovery solutions. Remote mirroring supports higher RPO times by allowing the data at the disaster recovery site to get further out of sync with the production site if the communication link limits replication, and then approaches synchronicity again when the link is not as busy. This low bandwidth remote mirroring uses space-efficient FlashCopy targets as sources in remote copy relationships to increase the time allowed to complete a remote copy data cycle.

Remote mirroring between Flex System V7000, SVC and Storwize V7000: Customers have greater flexibility in their expanding environments using Flex System V7000, Storwize V7000, and SVC with the ability now to remote mirror from one system to the other. With the wide variety of storage systems that can be managed under any of these systems, the options available for replicating data between a number of storage systems is multiplied. Remote deployments for disaster recovery for current SVC and Storwize V7000 environments can easily be fitted with the Flex System V7000 or vice versa.

This function does not affect how Metro/Global Mirror on the SVC or Remote Mirroring on the Flex System V7000 or Storwize V7000 is licensed. You must still license usage for volumes replicated at the source and the target. Because of a difference in metrics, SVC mirroring can be licensed for a subset of the total storage virtualized, and the Flex System V7000 and Storwize V7000 mirroring can be licensed interchangeably for the systems involved in the mirroring relationships applying their respective remote mirroring licensing rules between systems.

The remote mirroring license that the customer should acquire for use with a given system in a remote copy relationship should correspond to the remote mirroring license created for that system, whether that be the SAN Volume Controller Metro/Global Mirror license, Storwize V7000 Remote Mirroring license, or the Flex System V7000 Remote Mirroring license.

For example, there are three primary systems replicating to a central disaster recovery system. The three primary systems are as follows:

A two-enclosure Flex System V7000 with nothing externally virtualized, therefore it has two 5639-NZ1 licenses

A one-enclosure Flex System V7000 managing a DS5020 consisting of three enclosures, therefore it has one 5639-NZ1 license plus three 5639-EX1 licenses

The central disaster recovery system is a nine-enclosure Storwize V7000 with nothing externally virtualized, therefore it has nine 5639-VM1 licenses. The Flex System V7000 Remote Mirroring licensing would be as follows: a sum of six 5639-RE1 licenses and one 5639-RM1 license ( Storwize V7000 Remote Mirroring) for the primary systems plus seven 5639-RM1 licenses for the central disaster recovery system, for a total of six 5639-RE1 licenses and eight 5639-RM1 licenses required.

IBM Flex System V7000 Real-time Compression Software (5639-CM1)

IBM Flex System V7000 is designed to improve storage efficiency by supporting real-time compression for block storage. This improves efficiency by compressing data by as much as 80%, and enables storage of up to five times as much data in the same physical disk space. Unlike other approaches to compression, IBM Real-time Compression is designed to be used with active primary data such as production databases and email systems, dramatically expanding the range of candidate data that can benefit from compression. IBM Real-time Compression operates as data is written to disk to eliminate wasted space storing uncompressed data awaiting post-processing.

To authorize use of Real-time Compression capabilities of the IBM Flex System V7000, you must purchase a license for IBM Flex System V7000 Real-time Compression (5639-CM1) with the quantity of authorization features that match the number of licensed enclosures managed by the IBM Flex System V7000 Disk System, including each internal enclosure licensed with the IBM Flex System V7000 Base Software (5639-NZ1), each attached Storwize V7000 Expansion enclosure licensed with the Storwize V7000 Base Software (5639-VM1), and each external enclosure licensed with the IBM Flex System V7000 External Virtualization Software (5639-EX1).

For example, if you have IBM Flex System V7000 consisting of one control enclosure and one expansion enclosure (two 5639-NZ1 licenses), three Storwize V7000 Expansion enclosures (three 5639-VM1 licenses) managing a DS5020 consisting of four enclosures (four 5639-EX1 licenses), in order to authorize Real-time Compression for this configuration you will need a license for the IBM Flex System V7000 Real-time Compression (5639-CM1) with a quantity of nine enclosure licenses.

Clustered systems

IBM Flex System V7000 allows clustered systems with up to four Flex System V7000 Control Enclosures. Each Control Enclosure in a clustered system has the advantage of processing unique host system I/O workloads while configuration and management of the storage is performed at the system level. This provides up to four times the capacity and four times the throughput to support business growth, and it enables more consolidation, including external virtualized storage, for greater efficiency. Flex System V7000 clustered systems can only be created with like Flex System V7000 Control Enclosures. A Flex System V7000 Control Enclosure cannot be clustered with a Storwize V7000 Control Enclosure (machine type 2076), nor can it be clustered with SAN Volume Controller Storage Hardware Engines (machine type 2145).

Software maintenance renewals in the AAS ordering system for Flex System V7000 software are available via a services contract. Selecting feature number 9000 with the software maintenance registration ordered with the Flex System V7000 software indicates the desire to continue software maintenance on a services contract at the end of the initial software maintenance term. Feature number 9000 is available on:

Note: Auto renewal services are not available in all countries or for all initial software maintenance contract terms.

45-Day migration allowance

With the benefit of external virtualization, the Flex System V7000 allows customers to bring a system into their storage environment to quickly and easily migrate data from existing storage systems to the Flex System V7000. In order to facilitate this migration, IBM allows customers 45 days from the date of purchase of the Flex System V7000 system to use the external virtualization function for the purpose of migrating data from an existing storage system to the Flex System V7000 system. Any use thereafter, and ongoing use of the external virtualization function of Flex System V7000, requires the purchase of a Flex System V7000 External Virtualization license at a quantity equal to the capacity managed under the Flex System V7000 system. Migrations performed at later points in time that are to completely replace other storage systems with the Flex System V7000, thereby requiring temporary virtualization of that external storage system to perform that replacement activity, are granted a 45-day period for use of external virtualization without having to purchase a license to complete such a migration effort. Customers must make their sales representative aware of their intent and when they will be starting this migration so that an end date can be tracked. It is the customer's responsibility to ensure that they are properly licensed for all external storage managed by Flex System V7000 after those 45 days.

Accessibility by people with disabilities

A US Section 508 Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) containing details on accessibility compliance can be requested at

Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act

IBM Flex System V7000 Software V6.4 is capable, as of December 10, 2012, when used in accordance with IBM's associated documentation, of satisfying the applicable requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act provided that any assistive technology used with the product properly interoperates with it. A US Section 508 Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) can be requested on the following website

Business Partner information

If you are a Direct Reseller - System Reseller acquiring products from IBM , you may link directly to Business Partner information for this announcement. A PartnerWorld® ID and password are required (use IBM ID).

Call the Publications Support Group at 800-879-2755, and select option 1.

Contact your IBM representative.

The IBM Publications Center

Hardcopies of selected IBM Flex System V7000 Storage Node publications are available for a fee from the IBM Publications Center, as well as free softcopy publications. The Publications Center is a worldwide central repository for IBM product publications and marketing material with a catalog of 70,000 items. Extensive search facilities are provided. Payment options for orders are via credit card or customer number. A large number of publications are available online in various file formats, and they can all be downloaded free of charge.

Specified operating environment

Hardware requirements

This program requires at least one IBM Flex System V7000 Control Enclosure (4939-A49) for installation. Current support summaries, including specific software, hardware, and firmware levels supported, are maintained at the IBM Flex System V7000 Support website

The program's specifications and specified operating environment information may be found in documentation accompanying the program, if available, such as a README file, or other information published by IBM , such as an announcement letter. Documentation and other program content may be supplied only in the English language.

Limitations

This program operates on specified IBM Flex System V7000 hardware only, currently defined by IBM as 4939-A49 and 4939-A29.

For additional information, refer to "Usage restriction" in the Terms and conditions section of this announcement, and to the License Information document that is available on the IBM Software License Agreement website

Additional information on configuration limitations and configuration guidelines is further documented in the README file accompanying the IBM Flex System V7000 V6, furnished publications for this product or under the Plan/Upgrade tab in the IBM Flex System V7000 restrictions document at

Planning information

Planning considerations required for IBM Flex System V7000 apply. Refer to the announcements listed in the Reference information section and to the IBM Flex System V7000 information center at the IBM Support website for publications

Fee-based storage services are also available. For details, refer to the Storage services section

Customers with 5639-NZ1 licenses are responsible to ensure the total enclosures managed are within license entitlement. Similarly, for optional 5639-EX1 (External Virtualization), 5639-RE1 (Remote Mirroring), and 5639-CM1 (Compression) software, customers are also responsible to use these functions only to determine the total number of enclosures (storage devices) licensed.

Direct customer support

For technical support or assistance, contact your IBM representative or visit

Packaging

IBM Flex System V7000 V6.4, (5639-NZ1, 5639-RE1, 5639-EX1, and 5639-CM1) is preinstalled on and shipped with the required IBM 4939-A49 IBM Flex System V7000 Control Enclosure. For code updates, refer to the product support website at

License Information documents for IBM Flex System V7000 programs ship with the hardware on which they are preloaded.

The following are shipped with each new IBM Flex System V7000 hardware order:

IBM Agreement for Acquisition of Support and Addendum for Support, Z125-6011

License Information for IBM Flex System V7000 V6.4.1, GI13-2809

The paid invoice acts as Proof of Entitlement (PoE) for all orders of IBM Flex System V7000, V6. All associated media listed in the Publications section are also shipped with the new hardware order. One media set per IBM Flex System V7000 Disk System will be shipped. Refer to the hardware announcements listed in the Reference information section for correlated hardware order features.

Subsequent media orders

For additional available publications, refer to the Publications section.

For assistance in placing orders with or without media features, contact your IBM representative.

Publications are in English. This program, when downloaded from a website, contains the applicable IBM license agreement and License Information, if appropriate, and will be presented for acceptance at the time of installation of the program. For future reference, the license and License Information will be stored in a directory such as LICENSE.TXT.

Security, auditability, and control

Use of supplementary antivirus software is recommended, but not required. The customer is responsible for evaluation, selection, and implementation of security features, administrative procedures, and appropriate controls in application systems and communication facilities. The customer is responsible for evaluation, selection, and implementation of security features, administrative procedures, and appropriate controls in application systems and communication facilities.

IBM Software Services has the breadth, depth, and reach to manage your services needs. You can leverage the deep technical skills of our lab-based, software services team and the business consulting, project management, and infrastructure expertise of our IBM Global Services team. Also, we extend our IBM Software Services reach through IBM Business Partners to provide an extensive portfolio of capabilities. Together, we provide the global reach, intellectual capital, industry insight, and technology leadership to support a wide range of critical business needs.

To learn more about IBM Software Services or to contact a Software Services sales specialist, visit

The information provided in this announcement letter is for reference and convenience purposes only. The terms and conditions that govern any transaction with IBM are contained in the applicable contract documents such as the IBM International Program License Agreement, IBM International Passport Advantage® Agreement, and the IBM Agreement for Acquisition of Software Maintenance.

Licensing

IBM International Program License Agreement including the License Information document and Proof of Entitlement (PoE) govern your use of the program. PoEs are required for all authorized use.

This software license includes Software Subscription and Support (also referred to as Software Maintenance).

Agreement for Acquisition of Software Maintenance

The IBM Agreement for Acquisition of Software Maintenance (Z125-6011) agreement applies for Subscription and Support (also referred to as Software Maintenance) and does not require customer signatures.

These programs are licensed under the IBM Program License Agreement (IPLA) and the associated Agreement for Acquisition of Software Maintenance, which provide for support with ongoing access to releases and versions of the program. IBM includes one year of Software Subscription and Support (also referred to as Software Maintenance) with the initial license acquisition of each program acquired. The initial period of Software Subscription and Support (also referred to as Software Maintenance) can be extended by the purchase of a renewal option, if available. These programs have a one-time license charge for use of the program and an annual renewable charge for the enhanced support that includes telephone assistance (voice support for defects during normal business hours), as well as access to updates, releases, and versions of the program as long as support is in effect.

License Information form number

GI13-2809 License information for IBM Flex System V7000 V6.4.1

On or near the planned availability date, the current License Information documents will be available for review on the IBM Software License Agreement website

Limited warranty applies

Yes

Money-back guarantee

If for any reason you are dissatisfied with the program and you are the original licensee, you may obtain a refund of the amount you paid for it, if within 30 days of your invoice date you return the program and its PoE to the party from whom you obtained it. If you downloaded the program, you may contact the party from whom you acquired it for instructions on how to obtain the refund.

For clarification, note that for programs acquired under any of IBM's On/Off Capacity on Demand (On/Off CoD) software offerings, this term does not apply since these offerings apply to programs already acquired and in use by you.

Other terms

Volume orders (IVO)

Yes. Contact your IBM representative.

Passport Advantage applies

No

Software Subscription and Support applies

Yes. All distributed software licenses include Software Subscription and Support (also referred to as Software Maintenance) for a period of 12 months from the date of acquisition, providing a streamlined way to acquire IBM software and assure technical support coverage for all licenses. Extending coverage for a total of five years from date of acquisition may be elected.

While your Software Subscription and Support is in effect, IBM provides you assistance for your routine, short duration installation and usage (how-to) questions, and code-related questions. IBM provides assistance via telephone and, if available, electronic access, only to your information systems (IS) technical support personnel during the normal business hours (published prime shift hours) of your IBM support center. (This assistance is not available to your end users.) IBM provides Severity 1 assistance 24 hours a day, every day of the year. For additional details, consult your IBM Software Support Handbook at

Software Subscription and Support does not include assistance for the design and development of applications, your use of programs in other than their specified operating environment, or failures caused by products for which IBM is not responsible under this agreement.

System i Software Maintenance applies

No

Variable charges apply

No

Educational allowance available

IT system security involves protecting systems and information through prevention, detection, and response to improper access from within and outside your enterprise. Improper access can result in information being altered, destroyed, or misappropriated, or can result in misuse of your systems to attack others. Without a comprehensive approach to security, no IT system or product should be considered completely secure and no single product or security measure can be completely effective in preventing improper access. IBM systems and products are designed to be part of a comprehensive security approach, which will necessarily involve additional operational procedures, and may require other systems, products, or services to be most effective. IBM does not warrant that systems and products are immune from the malicious or illegal conduct of any party.

Pricing terms

Prices in the following PDF prices link are suggested list prices on day of announcement for the U.S. only. They are provided for your information only. Dealer prices may vary, and prices may also vary by country. IBM list price does not include tax or shipping and is subject to change without notice.

IBM Global Financing

IBM Global Financing offers competitive financing to credit-qualified customers to assist them in acquiring IT solutions. Offerings include financing for IT acquisition, including hardware, software, and services, from both IBM and other manufacturers or vendors. Offerings (for all customer segments: small, medium, and large enterprise), rates, terms, and availability can vary by country. Contact your local IBM Global Financing organization or visit

IBM Global Financing offerings are provided through IBM Credit LLC in the United States, and other IBM subsidiaries and divisions worldwide to qualified commercial and government customers. Rates are based on a customer's credit rating, financing terms, offering type, equipment type, and options, and may vary by country. Other restrictions may apply. Rates and offerings are subject to change, extension, or withdrawal without notice.

Financing from IBM Global Financing helps you preserve cash and credit lines, enables more technology acquisition within current budget limits, permits accelerated implementation of economically attractive new technologies, offers payment and term flexibility, and can help match project costs to projected benefits. Financing is available worldwide for credit-qualified customers.

The Americas Call Centers, our national direct marketing organization, can add your name to the mailing list for catalogs of IBM products.

Note: Shipments will begin after the planned availability date.

IBM Software ValueNet

These products are available under IBM Software ValueNet , either directly from IBM or through authorized Business Partners who invest in skills and high value solutions. IBM customers may benefit from the industry-specific or horizontal solutions, skills and expertise provided by these Business Partners.

Additions to Software ValueNet will be communicated through standard product announcements. For a current list of IBM software available under Software ValueNet , visit

Questions regarding IBM Software ValueNet may be sent to AskSoftwareValueNet@us.ibm.com

Trademarks

IBM Flex System, Real-time Compression, PureFlex and PureSystems are trademarks of IBM Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.

IBM, System Storage, Storwize, Easy Tier, FlashCopy, PartnerWorld, Passport Advantage, ValueNet and ibm.com are registered trademarks of IBM Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.

Other company, product, and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.

Terms of use

IBM products and services which are announced and available in your country can be ordered under the applicable standard agreements, terms, conditions, and prices in effect at the time. IBM reserves the right to modify or withdraw this announcement at any time without notice. This announcement is provided for your information only. Additional terms of use are located at: